By Michael R. Malone Those bills in your wallet? The crinkled, dog-eared George Washington and the Alexander Hamilton blotched with pink ink. They're laced with cocaine. About 10 micrograms on the average. Zipped through currency counters in banks from Miami to Minneapolis, a minute amount of residue from "real" drug money has tainted your bills and once again validated the fundamental maxim of forensic science that "objects or surfaces which come into contact always exchange trace evidence." Should you worry? Who can tell the difference between your "innocent" bills and those of a drug trafficker? A dog or canine police agent can ‹ and substantiated by the testimony of FIU professor Ken Furton, a national expert witness for "dog alert" cases, the evidence can convince a judge and jury to send a trafficker behind bars and add hundreds of thousands of dollars in forfeited proceeds to the coffers of federal prosecutors. These "narcotic odor" cases are among the most disputed today in courts around the country. Crime has grown more complicated, and cases from sexual battery to the O.J. Simpson murder trial hinge on scientific research for their evidence and the competency of the criminalists involved. One verdict is clear: Academics like Ken Furton are revolutionizing the field of forensic science, the busy intersection where science swerves onto the avenues of crime investigation and analysis. An astute defense lawyer would attempt to argue away the evidence of a dog alert. "Your honor, my client is not and has never been involved in any kind of illegal drug activity. With all due respect, the canine agent simply made a mistake and alerted to the residue present. My client is as innocent as the money he carries." Not so, Furton will assert. The director of the newly established International Forensic Research Institute (IFRI) based at FIU will counter with his patented analogy. "Who hasn't walked into a room, your honor, and smelled the unmistakable smell of popcorn. Follow the smell to its source. You may find an empty bag, but the smell is pungent and undisputable: popcorn. The same holds true for cocaine. The bag may be empty but the odor is evidence." Furton's testimony, the fruit of years of research, focuses on the variance between residue and odor. The dogs, he has documented, alert not to the residue but to the odor of methyl benzoate, a chemical formed converting raw coca to processed cocaine. Like a bacteria that passes through the blood stream, money accompanies the drug at every step of its intrusive way. In the thick of South American jungles where the coca plant is processed into cocaine, bills are passed. To the handlers that ship it north, money slides from hand to hand. On the streets of Miami, traffickers handle wads of rubber-band bound bills, slipping payment to street dealers and users. The bills are tainted. Like yours? Nope, it's not the residue, but the odor. "The findings support the claims. The dogs are right, they can differentiate between odor and residue," Furton asserts. His testimony in a recent case, along with other evidence provided by prosecutors, helped prosecutors secure $201,700 in forfeited drug proceeds. He is called regularly to testify in federal court cases in Miami and throughout the nation. In 1248, the Chinese book Hsi Duan Yu ("Washing Away of Wrongs") offered the first written documentation exploring the link between medicine and law. In 1192 in England, the Crown began to appoint "crowners" (later "coroners") to determine whether a death was due to suicide or some other cause. Near the end of the 18th century, with the acceptance of chemistry as a legitimate science, scientists first began appearing in the courtroom to testify regarding arsenic poisoning and fingerprinting. In 1809, the University of Edinburgh established the first professional chair for legal medicine. Around the turn of this century, the founder of modern forensic science, Alexandre Lacassagne, articulated his theories on the science of ballistics. In 1910, the first forensic laboratory was established in France, and by the '40s and '50s, Edmond Locard was espousing the previously mentioned maxim on the exchange principle on objects and trace evidence. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department opened the first crime laboratory in the United States in 1930, the FBI founded its first lab in 1932, and in 1937 Paul Kirk organized the first academic criminalistics program in the country at the University of California. In the 1970s, professionals began calling for improved standards and better coordination of resources and knowledge in the field. In 1994, with the murder trial of one swift halfback in smoggy Los Angeles, that call became a howl. "The O.J. Simpson trial cast the field of forensic science into a new light and brought more public scrutiny to bear," says Furton. "The case shook the field to its foundation." Furton's office in the Chemistry and Physics Building is peppered with hockey pennants from his hometown Detroit Red Wings and an array of wall stickers that proclaim his passion for crime: "Arson - Help Stop This Senseless Crime," and "Thank You for Not Shooting." A photograph over his ever humming laptop shows his other love, his wife and two children. "To most investigators and prosecutors, with all that physical evidence the Simpson case was one you dream of. To lose the case, demonstrates that some housekeeping must be done," Furton says, whose gaze, like that of a detective, appears to study and record every detail. If the watershed trial focused attention generally on the field of forensic science, it riveted scrutiny on the limitations of DNA testing, the expertise of FIU biology professor Martin "Marty" Tracey. "The O.J. case made people aware not only of DNA testing, but also of forensic science. It drove home the point that DNA testing is only as good as the crime scene analysis. I call it the 'O.J. defense,' where once you get a DNA match the defense goes after the crime scene techs and start beating up on Dennis Fung (supervisor of the lab that tested the O.J. evidence)." Some 30 years ago, Tracey began researching the subdivisions of population groups. In his examinations of research plants and animals to determine different ethnic groups, he probed the methodology of fingerprinting and other identification. He joined the FIU faculty in the late '70s, a decade before the first DNA case in the state, "Florida vs. Andrews" (Orlando, 1987). Tracey's expertise attracted attention. A friend asked him to "pinch-hit" as an expert witness. He's been a courtroom regular ever since, serving both as a courtroom witness and consultant for prosecutors, as in the trial of Danny Rolling, who later pleaded guilty to the serial murders of five students in Gainesville in 1990. Tracey's research focuses on DNA testing, the analysis of particular human genes to determine identification. He suggests the analogy of trains of cattle and milk cars to understand the potential for accuracy of these gene comparisons. The trains, as in human genes, will be composed of unique compositions and sequences. With each further match of the gene sample, the accuracy of the comparison is further validated. DNA serves as determinant evidence in an increasing number of cases, like in sexual battery cases where a rape is alleged. In the past, the principal evidence was often the victim's testimony, far too often successfully disputed by able defense attorneys. Today, however, with the use of DNA testing by means of a vaginal swab at the hospital, an accused rapist has a far more difficult time explaining to a judge how a semen sample matching his own "got there by mistake," Tracey says. While in the past samples were drawn from blood, with advancements, Tracey says, they can be swiped from cheek tissue, a "far less intrusive" method than in the past. Tracey plans to soon undertake a new study to explore databases for some 15 new genes. Instead of the 10 or so genes that are used at present, he predicts that two or three dozen more can be documented. The increase will make identifications even more fail-safe. In some cases, as occurred in the O.J. trial defense, teams questioned the accuracy of the samples and returned the evidence to the lab for further testing. Instead of the lab scrambling to retest what they already established, further testing of the new gene combinations can be added. The botched lab analysis, shoddy handling of evidence and other snafus in the Los Angeles case that enabled O.J. to elude a lengthy prison sentence emphasized what professionals like Furton, Tracey and members of the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors have been advocating for years: There is an urgent need for improved standardization in the field. Enhanced analysis techniques and certification of labs and individuals are required to prevent criminals from slipping through the fingers of the law. "There's a big push in forensic science around the country for more stringent educational backgrounds and training. The movement is toward formal degrees within a fixed discipline," Furton insists. FIU's Certificate Program for Forensic Science answers that demand. The interdisciplinary program requires training in the physical and natural sciences and additional knowledge of the criminal justice system. The program focuses on students who are pursuing a career in the forensic sciences; to earn the certificate, candidates must complete 12 credit hours in required classes and four to six additional credits in specialized course work under the consultation of a departmental advisor. Last November, a labor of love and an idea that had been percolating in Ken Furton¹s mind surged into reality with the founding of the International Forensic Research Institute (IFRI). To share resources and expertise, the center links a bevy of illustrious partners, including: the Miami-Dade Police Department, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Broward County Sheriff's Office Crime Laboratory, Dade County Medical Examiner¹s Office, Broward County Medical Examiner's Toxicology Lab, Southeast Regional DEA Laboratory, Royal Bahamas Police Force Forensic Science Laboratory, National Forensic Science Technology Center, American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors, International Association of Forensic Sciences, University de Lausanne, University of Strathclyde Forensic Science Unit, and the University of Technology in Sydney, Australia, the latter among the most prestigious forensic science institutions in the world. Designed to link forensic science professionals with law enforcement agencies, the Institute draws on areas beyond the "hard" sciences ‹ criminal justice, psychology and jurisprudence ‹ and proposes to: conduct original research in the forensic sciences; transfer technologies from scientific disciplines for use in applications; provide scientific expertise to the law enforcement and legal community; encourage collaborative research; and provide continuing education and advanced training to practicing scientists and research training for students. "The Institute shows the University has made a commitment to forensic research; it will make it easier to conduct research and obtain grants," says Brian Cutler, associate professor of Psychology and associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. An advisor on the Institute board, Cutler, an authority in legal psychology, says that "besides bringing research to a higher level of visibility it provides a forum through which we can connect and allows for research partnerships." Cutler has been called on dozens of occasions to serve as an expert witness and his expertise is often sought for trial jury selections and trial simulations. He readily acknowledges Furton¹s inspiration in furthering the project, but also views the center as "an idea whose time had come." Cutler believes that the state designation of the center as a "Type IV," which doesn't receive dedicated funding or physical space, poses no drawbacks. "The Institute can still fulfill its function as a virtual center, it doesn't need to be elevated in order to serve its purpose and create more synergy," Cutler says. To address the paramount issue of funding, Furton is actively seeking corporate grants. He has secured an initial $10,000 grant from Supelco and its parent company Sigma Aldrich. Besides research, monies will be earmarked to sponsor student participation at the 1999 International Association of Forensic Science Conference in Los Angeles, where the Institute will coordinate a session. The Institute supports a more expansive vision for cooperation between forensic scientists and law enforcement investigators that span the globe. Among its partners include an old, neighborhood pal: the Miami-Dade Police Department. For 15 years, the crime lab at police headquarters has offered less formal collaboration and a superb training ground for FIU forensic science student interns. The Miami-Dade Police complex looms like a fortress along the solitary stretch of road on Northwest 25th Street under the busy air corridors of Miami International Airport. The canal that parallels the road appears as a protective moat, and once over the bridge and inside the "castle" a visitor experiences a sense of inviolability. The crime lab was opened in 1959, essentially to analyze fingerprints. The Miami-Dade Police headquarters complex, built in 1990, houses the modern 45,000-square-foot lab, recognized as one of the nation's top-notch facilities. Forty scientists and 1,300 employees divide their investigations into three investigative areas: analytic, biology and forensic identification, which includes firearms and questioned documents. "Physical evidence can manifest itself in a variety of forms," explains Jose Almirall, associate director of the IFRI, an adjunct professor at FIU and full-time criminalist with the lab. "The laboratory is well equipped to perform the typical crime lab examinations, such as DNA analysis and firearms exams. We seek help with the unusual, non-routine types of analysis." Almirall served a key role in securing the support of Commander James Carr, the crime lab director, for the IFRI. "We go to the academics for their fountain of experience, there's so much expertise there," Almirall says. The lab is the hub of any criminal investigation for the South Florida area. From the Jimmy Ryce murder investigation to paint chips left from a hit-and-run accident to the striations examined on a fatal bullet, the lab is involved. A major portion of its investigations deal with controlled substance analysis, and the lab's two state of the art autosamplers handle some 12,000 substance identifications annually, about 80 percent of which turn out to be cocaine. Student interns are prohibited from participating in criminal investigations, but instead pursue research-oriented lab tasks. Interns research areas the busy criminalists simply don't have time to follow, like differentiating between legal and illegal steroids or other myriad controlled substances that are introduced yearly. A wide number of FIU interns, like Nelson Santos who now holds an administrative position with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), have gone on to secure employment in the lab or other law enforcement agency laboratories. Besides the valuable hands-on experience, the intern program serves the more practical function of allowing an intern to know if forensics offers a good career fit. Furton himself, for example, interned in a crime lab in his native Michigan and considered following in the footsteps of his grandfather, a decorated police chief. The experience taught him, however, that "I wouldn't last six months on the beat in Detroit," so he switched gears and went on to graduate work, then post-doctorate work in Wales, advancing his passion for crime. The Miami-Dade crime lab, overwhelmed with the volume of investigations, calls on academics like Furton ‹ and those accessible through the Institute ‹ to help with its research projects. Almirall regards the forensic science program at FIU as "top-notch" and says it has the potential to rival world class university facilities like Strathclyde in Scotland and Lausanne in Switzerland. He's excited by the possibilities afforded by the new Institute and by other proposed advancements in the forensic science program at the University. A master's program is under consideration and a half-million dollar award via the University Quality Improvement Program will allow for the development of a new facility for advanced mass spectrometry, which will analyze organic and inorganic compounds to support environmental and forensic research. "With our lab so close to FIU, we're just a phone call away for access to experts in a variety of areas and collaboration with faculty," Almirall says. "The Institute streamlines the mechanics to do that."

Editor Todd Ellenberg Creative Director Terry Witherell Art Director Bill Stahl Writers Todd Ellenberg, Susan G. Lichtman, Michael Malone, Marisel Othon, Alexandra Pecharich Photographers Gloria O¹Connell, Bill Stahl, Michael Upright, George Valcarce President Modesto A. Maidique Vice President, University Relations Steve Sauls Director of Publications Terry Witherell FIU Magazine is published twice a year by the Florida International University Division of University Relations. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. Distributed free of charge to alumni, friends, faculty and staff of the University. Postmaster and others, please send change of address information to FIU Magazine, Office of Publications, PC 230, Miami, Florida 33199. Copyright ©1998, Florida International University € Equal Opportunity/Equal Access Employer and Institution. Qualified individuals with disabilities as defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act who need special accommodations for any FIU-sponsored event can request assistance by calling the number listed in association with the function. The request must be made five working days before the scheduled starting time. TDD, via FRS 1-800-955-8771.